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• Wetlands, the city’s wealth • Geared towards excellence MADRAS • Early days of Indian sail • Indian celebrity chefs MUSINGS • Fifty years in Division I Rs. 5 per copy Vol. XV No. 15 November 16-30, 2005 (Annual Subscription: Rs. 100/-) A glimmer of hope In the fight to save the Adyar ecosystem (by Shobha Menon) “ he protection and the “indiscriminate, uncontrolled Tpreservation of the area and haphazard growth along around the Adyar Estuary and the coast, more particularly in I will repeat your order, Sir... Miso the Elliot’s Beach along the the areas prohibited for con- Melagutani Soup, Sushi in Sambar, Urur Olcott Kuppam,” was the struction activity, in the last few Tandoori Hibachi Chicken, and intent of the writ petition filed years, has had a serious impact Kabocha Manju Masala Dosa! in the public interest by T. on the sensitive coastal ecosys- If that’s your address, Murugavel of the Trust for tem,” the petition added, “Any Ecology and Eco-restoration construction activity on the you must be (TREE) against the Tamil beach to the south of the Adyar one of ... THEM! Nadu Coastal Zone Manage- estuary would have a disastrous For years now, the city, like any ment Authority. The appeal impact on the fragile ecosystem self-respecting flourishing me- urged the Court to direct the of the Adyar River and the tropolis, has shown a marked respondents to take all mea- coast.” tendency to spread in various sures, including preventive Says Murugavel, an ardent directions, rather like an out- measures, to cease all illegal environmentalist and wildlife of-control amoeba. activities, including photographer who often talks of Many of these little sprouting l Clearing and levelling of becoming an ‘eco-terrorist’, cities within the city have de- land, extraction and removal “Three years ago, the then veloped their own character, of sand; General Manager of the Theo- ethos, leading to slightly catty Manohar Devadoss, that well-known artist of Madras, who creates detailed classifications like “typical ‘— l Raising unauthorised struc- sophical Society, Arjun, was la- tures on the Elliot’s Beach, menting about the illegal sand pen-and-ink drawings of historic monuments, despite battling with declining vision, Nagar Type’ ” or “Too ‘— presents six new greeting cards this year, each with a brief text on the history of the Puram’ for words”! north of Urur Olcott quarrying that was going on un- Kuppam, and ensuring com- abated and the gradual monument. How does this happen? Who The sales proceeds go to service-minded institutions like Sankara Nethralaya, decides that that patch nor’ – pliance of the Coastal Regu- encroachment of the Adyar by Aravind Eye Hospital, SPASTN and others. Apart from the money the cards nor’ –west is going to be ‘Little- lation Zone Notification slums. generate, they also create a greater awareness of our heritage and the need to Piece-of-the-North’, while dated 19.02.1991; Construction began in the preserve our historic buildings. that tract of land sou’ –sou’ – l Restoring the areas affected northern side in 1997, intensi- This year’s cards feature the Guindy east is designated ‘IT-And- by sand extraction; and fying in 2001, when sand was Engineering College building, the Partha- Such-Like-Flavour-Of-The- sarathy Temple in Triplicane, Wesley Month-Professionals-Only’? l Passing further, or other, quarried across the estuary. An orders as may be necessary. alleged official sanction for Church in Egmore, An elephant carrying Yonder is ‘True-Blue-Home- coconut fronds near Madurai, Alagar Grown-Thair-Saadham’, while The High Court recently removal of ‘50 lorries a day’ in responded to the petition by reality had meant ‘about 100 Temple near Madurai, and a view of right across is Global-Cuisine- Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. With-Shops-That-Sell-Out- directing Government to com- lorries round-the-clock’, which Featured above is the Guindy fits-to Match, all of which ply with the Court’s recom- is when I felt some action should Engineering College building and, below, leads to relevant hordes mendations. The High Court’s be taken to stop this devastation Wesley Church. thronging there to pitch their response has been called a of the ecosystem.” tents. Sounds a little like a gi- “very significant” ruling by In his petition, Murugavel ant game of ‘Match the Fol- environmentalists in the city. pointed out there has been a lowing’. May be people instinctively seek According to the affidavit, “move on the part of the private out like-minded souls and “The Adyar River, of which the construction lobby to clear the throng accordingly. Creek is a part, had become land without any permission Savvy entrepreneurs, having highly polluted over the years. and put up structures on the linked this possibility with the However, the estuary still has Elliot’s Beach, adjacent to the fact that the city today attracts vegetation, which is capable of Theosophical Society and a large number of ‘long-term regeneration and is also a nest- north of the Urur Olcott temporary’ visitors, have ing ground for migratory birds. Kuppam within 50 m of the started creating little homes- Despite the increasing urbani- High Tide Line. The first step away-from-homes, ensuring nobody need feel homesick sation, almost 173 varieties of towards this is the removal of and lonesome. birds continue to flock to the the sand from the beach along Even Government has got into area. In 1990, the Madras Natu- the Urur Olcott Kuppam in the act with ‘Little This’ and ralists’ Society (MNS) reported large quantities furtively during ‘Little That’. sighting nearly 8860 birds in the Of course, the uninformed local vicinity”. Pointing out that (Continued on Page 6) now stands in danger of (Continued on Page 5) (Also see page 2) 2 MADRAS MUSINGS November 16-30, 2005

transport project has dumped debris from the hillsides onto the Chennai’s wetlands.” Doesn’t this sound familiar, especially if you think of the Adyar-San Thomé Greenways Road wetlands or what is happening and has hap- wetlands pened in the Velachery and Pallikaranai areas. CAG tried to stop through public interest liti- Will we ever capitalise on gations massive housing projects of the Tamil Nadu Housing this wealth? Board in the low-lying areas etlands play a very im- is geologically in a tilt sloping and lakebeds of Velachery, The Pallikaranai marsh. Wportant role as natural eastwards, causing many of the Ambattur, Nolambur, 1985. Surely, if such a scenario Forest Department were to take ecosystems. Tragically, espe- rivers of peninsular India to flow Chitlapakkam and Kakkalur. were to repeat itself, the loss the initiative and create pro- cially when they are located eastwards. It is against this geo- These ‘projects’ had received fi- now would be manifold, con- ductive, public-private partner- close to cities and growing ur- logical and ecological historical nancial approval from the sidering that the city is pushing ships, these wetlands can be re- ban agglomerations such as background that we should un- World Bank and HUDCO. itself heavily as an attractive stored. They can also take Chennai, where the demand derstand the network of wet- Despite all CAG’s efforts, the destination for IT companies. genuine pride in removing the for land in terms of housing and lands and man-made tanks, in- Court refused to interfere in the This is not to create any sense stigma of Chennai being re- other needs increases, they are cluding temple tanks, which matter. of panic, but to realistically as- ferred to as the ‘Smelling City’. seen as areas with potential for are part of an extensive natural Another PIL related to the sess how a coastal city should Other than these gains, it is land development. This is so es- and man-made system to store plans to convert the wetlands use its natural design to man- also useful to consider that once pecially when the demand for the flows and act like a vast adjacent to the Greenways age potential natural disasters the beauty of wetlands is re- new land for development be- catchment network for the wa- Road into a memorial for Dr. and not pay a higher cost by stored and they are on their way comes urgent. This, coupled ter, especially closer to the Ambedkar, while actually cre- destroying the inherent values to ecological recovery, they can with the rising land prices, more coast. These wetlands and ating real estate around the me- contained in its natural setting become areas of rich natural often fuelled by speculators tanks not only store the surface morial for other uses. The Court and design. heritage. Our generation, which than real, is when both the water flows during the mon- judgment accepted (by and by standing silent and passive State and private entities start soons but also serve to charge large) CAG’s objections and The road ahead while this rich natural wealth of looking for where new land can the groundwater aquifers and the order itself, which allowed These natural assets can in our city is being destroyed and be found if not “created”. serve as flood control mecha- the Memorial but halted the fact be turned to Chennai’s ad- which has allowed these valu- When there are no genuine nisms. Not to recognise the role other proposed activities, was vantage. Seen from the point of able natural ecosystems to be workable land use plans on the played by these wetlands, along unique in many ways. Follow- view of the geological tilt of the completely obliterated, still has part of Government and there with the waterways, like the ing up on the Court order would peninsula, Madras is only four a chance to repay its debts in is pressure to put new land on feet above mean sea level. This terms of its obligations to future the market, wetlands, l by LAWRENCE SURENDRA means that the role of the sea generations, by joining hands to characterised as swamps or during high tide in flushing and repair, rejuvenate and ecologi- marshes, are seen as ideal new Cooum, the Adyar and the also possibly show how wet- cleaning its canals and river cally recover the remaining land for ‘development’. If to this Buckingham Canal, and the lands, whose inherent natural network as well as its wetlands wetlands in the city. you add the fact that ‘develop- vast network of tanks, in terms value and wealth is not clearly is very important, as in the case Cities like Singapore, which ment’ activity, whether it be in of recharging groundwater and perceived by the ordinary citi- of the San Thomé-Adyar wet- once followed the kind of de- the form of new house con- managing flood flows would be zen, can also become locations lands connected to the sea near structive urban development struction or old houses having folly, resulting in many impon- that add value, including eco- Foreshore Estate, which is now that we are now blindly en- to be torn down to give way to derable consequences, if heavy nomic, to the city by becoming blocked by housing and other gaged in, have now discovered new apartment complexes, rains or flooding were to hap- a place of natural heritage, at- obstructions. Whoever enters not only the folly of such a path needs space to dump ‘wastes’, pen. tracting visitors and offering the Chennai especially from the but the new wealth and trea- then there is also pressure to urban dweller a peaceful refuge west and north, first comments sures they have gained by work- look for land-fill sites. Here Wetlands and urban where he can enjoy nature and on the rotten smell that signals ing towards the recovery of again, these ‘useless’ swamps planning oxygenate his polluted and bat- they have reached Chennai. their ecological assets. and marshes become ideal sites After the recent heavy rains tered urban body. This is because of the way the Singapore is now restoring its with the logic, developing of in Mumbai, Tehelka (October Chennai has to recognise waterbodies and related spaces wetlands and river routes, liter- these marshes becoming 1, 2005) looked at the conse- the extraordinary economic po- have been misused and system- ally making the river flow, and ‘value’, first, as land fill sites, quences in terms of other tential and wealth that it has in atically destroyed, making offering these as new tourist at- then it becoming new urban metros and arrived at the view terms of its natural wetlands, them open sewers rather than tractions. If we in Chennai were space to meet the increasing that such rains would be disas- both within the city and on spaces of natural cleansing that actually far-sighted and truly demands for land. This kind of trous for cities like Bangalore what were once its peripheries. they were originally meant to savvy about the future, we negative valuation of swamps or and Chennai. Tehelka also According to the same Tehelka be. would learn our lessons from cit- marshes does not take into con- pointed out, “The systematic report quoted earlier, “Chennai Anybody crossing Foreshore ies like Singapore. Will we? Or sideration the value, even eco- destruction of about 1,000 acres receives an annual rainfall of Estate cannot escape this foul will we copy the mistakes of nomically. These swamps and of the city’s mangrove cover de- 120 cms. In November 1985, smell either, especially as the other cities in terms of a urban marshes have played as impor- prived Mumbai of its natural when the city recorded 66.5 cm dry season approaches. There development, by failing to un- tant natural systems in the past flood barrier and silt trap. The rain in three days, many areas are boards indicating that these derstand how to successfully and their use in the future as horror stories in terms of urban were inundated.” The loss to wetland areas are part of the build on a city’s natural wealth water and flood regulators. Not planning don’t end here. A public sector companies was es- Forest Department of the Gov- and its natural assets? – (Cour- to mention their immense po- World Bank-funded urban timated to be Rs.17 crore in ernment of Tamil Nadu. If the tesy: CAG Souvenir 2005) tential to add other value, in- cluding many economic ben- l To ease traffic congestion efits to society, once they can be maintained and allowed to regenerate in their original RESTRICTIONS ON MUMBAI ENTRY? state, as wetlands. For instance, (By A Correspondent) the wetlands act as silt traps and he Bombay High Court has Transport Commissioner V.M. would not be applicable to gov- Rustomjee, counsel for the pe- in the process contribute to an Tbeen hearing a public in- Lal, is applicable to owners of ernment and police vehicles, titioners. The Lal committee it- amazingly rich and diverse terest litigation petition filed by two-wheelers and cars. ambulances and emergency self said that the scheme would aquatic ecosystem, which, in the Bombay Environmental Under the proposed scheme, vehicles. decrease traffic congestion by turn, contributes to and attracts Action Group (BEAG) urging vehicles with number plates Both the State Government 20% while increasing vehicle avian diversity, both local and the court to order the state gov- ending with numbers 1 and 2 and the Western India Auto- speed by 20%. “The Lal migratory, to the wetlands. ernment to implement a traffic would be barred entry into the mobile Association (WIAA) committee’s recommendations It may be useful to also con- restraint scheme (TRS), re- city on Mondays during peak have strongly opposed the to phase out old polluting ve- sider the salience of the straining entry of private cars hours. Vehicles with number scheme. hicles or convert to compressed Chennai swamps, marshes or and two-wheelers into the city plates ending with numbers 3 “Such schemes have been natural gas (CNG) has already wetlands in the overall geologi- on particular days of the week. and 4 will be restricted entry on implemented in London, Ath- been implemented,” said cal and ecological position of The TRS system, first Tuesdays, 5 and 6 on Wednes- ens and Mexico City and have Rustomjee. “It is now time for Tamil Nadu. The peninsular mooted by the transport com- days, 7 and 8 on Thursdays and seen a remarkable reduction in part of the Indian subcontinent mittee headed by the then 9 and 0 on Fridays. This ban traffic snarls,” said Shiraz (Continued on Page 5) November 16-30, 2005 MADRAS MUSINGS 3

to be found everywhere in the city – and we only keep adding to them. On Taylor’s Road (an im- Miles to go portant arterial road in got up early to post a few letters, thinking as usual of all the Kilpauk), a huge, eye-catching, Iobstacles people living in T. Nagar face. Coming out of the glitzy, state-of-the-art steel- gate, I notice the remains of what was once a beautiful tree and-concrete building to house which, thanks to the builders of new flats, has been paved with software offices with a few concrete upto its trunk. Going a bit further, I notice ONYX con- Rains in October ahead...” in the city. This is in- thousand personnel working in tainers, now in a dilapidated state and with rubbish strewn all deed a nightmarish issue which them is due to be commissioned around, thanks to the rag-pickers and stray dogs. he recent rains have been needs to be tackled before total any day now. When it is done, Treminiscent of the heavy A few minutes later, at the Ankur Plaza Junction, near G.N. chaos sets in. That we have a grave traffic hazard will be rains which persisted during the Chetty Road, there’s more ONYX junk and a TNEB junction overlooked a priority, NOT posed, with hundreds of ve- box covered with posters. This appears to be a convenient cor- first week of October 1943. learning from the developed hicles belonging to these per- ner for auto drivers etc. to urinate and causes a constant odour. Water mains in Madras were world, is all too evident. sonnel, coming and going on The commercial activity in this corner adds more rubbish than cut off. The Saidapet rail bridge I remember interviewing the Taylor’s Road, particularly what ONYX can clear! was washed away. famous economist John Ken- through the narrow neck lead- The quick restoration of the Walking on the pavement, which fortunately is clean upto neth Galbraith, a former ing to the Poonamalle High rail bridge, restoration of water Vani Mahal, I almost fall into an open drain, its cover having American ambassador to India, Road traffic signals. Crossing vanished – months ago, I was told. supply and other quick reme- in the early 1950s. Galbraith Taylor’s Road will then be even dial measures taken by the au- Another minute takes me to the Vani Mahal Junction, who was involved in postwar re- more hazardous for citizens liv- thorities are still green in my where there are four massive hoardings, so big you cannot but construction strategies in Eu- ing on both sides of it than it is memory. The discipline and the break your neck trying to see what they are all about. The newly rope was invited by the Soviet now. unquestioning commitment renovated Vani Mahal looks insignificant hidden by those Union, then an ally of the West, hoardings. Adding to the discomfort of pedestrians, billboards which was spontaneous among K.P. Mahalingam to help them out in their indus- made of crude thattis are placed near the steps and entrance of all cannot easily be forgotten. 6-B. The Peninsula trial revival. Vani Mahal. Do we witness such quick 778, Poonamallee High Road What do you think the fa- Chennai 600 010 response and dedication in the In a few minutes more, I am at my destination – the public mous economist told the Sovi- present days? Of course, the Editor’s Note: No doubt, mail box. While dropping my letters in it I notice with dismay ets when asked to outline a plan Presidency was under Gover- Traffic Control will find some that there are letters peeping out from below the mail box. A few for them in regard to the revival months back I wrote to the Postmaster pointing out a similar nor’s rule. remedies to mitigate the threat, of their motor car industry. He but even they will very likely incident and requested him to place a collection bag in the mail D.V. Subramanian said: “Before you think of mak- prove inadequate as the area box. Obivously my plea has fallen on deaf ears! 6, Sriram Colony ing cars, make sure you solve becomes more populated once While returning home, I notice that the Police have not Theosophical Society the parking problem.” highrise is sanctioned. removed the thick foliage of trees that covers the red and yellow Adyar, Chennai 600 020 A timely warning for all signs at the crossing by Residency Hotel. Further, the zebra Early Tamil novelists P.S. It was during those time and all places. crossing leads to railings, blocking the pedestrian again. There rains that a lone Japanese ovel writing in Tamil had are hundreds of streets in Chennai each with 10 such Jaiboy Joseph complaints. Will we ever see better streets in the City? bomber dropped a bomb on ‘Priya’ Na beginning in the last de- Madras. The bomb fell into the 2, Second Avenue cades of the 19th Century. It K.V.S. Krishnan Cooum behind General Harrington Road was Arni Kuppuswamy 2A, Parkland Apartments Hospital. Chennai 600 031 Mudaliar and Vaduvoor K. Kamala Bai Street T. Nagar, Chennai 600 017 Another blocked junction? Duraiswamy Iyengar who First things first caught the imagination of read- adras Musings has in he transport infrastructural ers by writing novels of gripping Mrecent issues several times Ttravails of ‘Singara Chen- interest in the early decades of was tried by the Municipal Cor- bicycle with a foldable city road warned that there’s “Gridlock nai’ (MM, September 16th) are the 20th Century. The earliest poration when the wells in the map which I kept on the middle novels were Rajam Iyer’s individual houses had water. of handle bar in a spring holder. Kamalambal Charitram and Every month, Corporation offi- I have covered much of South Mayuram Vedhanayagam cials used to visit the houses Madras this way. As I have OUR ADDRESSES Pillai’s Prathapa Mudaliar with a bucketful of small fish reminisced earlier, one of the Charitram. and drop them inside the wells. first halts was ‘Ranade Hall’ in For matters regarding subscriptions, donations, non-receipt of receipts Arni’s novels were mostly But now, almost all the wells Luz Church Road. translations of English authors’ have dried up and the only etc.: Chennai Heritage, 260-A, TTK Road, Chennai 600 018. N. Dharmeshwaran works. G.N.M. Reynold’s volu- places that breed mosquitoes For non-receipt of copies, change of address, and all other circulation 14, 10th Cross minous novel Mysteries of Lon- are the Buckingham Canal matters: MADRAS MUSINGS, C/o Lokavani Hall-Mark Press Pvt. Maruthi Extension don Tower was titled in the and the River Cooum. It is, Bangalore 560 003 Ltd., 122, Greames Road, Chennai 600 006. Tamil version as Rathnapuri therefore, a moot point On editorial matters: The Editor, MADRAS MUSINGS, C/o Rahasyam in nine parts. Vadu- whether such fish would thrive Lokavani Hall-Mark Press Pvt. Ltd., 122, Greames Road, Chennai voor mainly adapted his stories in waters so murky, as they were A big 600 006. from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s obviously freshwater fish. Sherlock Holmes series. He As for the canal at Manda- ‘Thank You’ No personal visits or telephone calls, please. Letters received will be made the name of Digambara veli, reader S. Madhavan writes to 17 of you sent from these addresses every couple of days to the persons Samiar, the detective, a house- about on the same issue, it is no concerned and you will get an answer from them to your queries hold one. longer in existence as it has been reasonably quickly. Strange as it may seem, if you adopt the ‘snail J.R. Rangaraju also wrote de- filled up with earth long ago. We publish below the list of donors who have, between mail’ approach, we will be able to help you faster and disappoint you tective stories, while Va. Mu. The site is earmarked for Met- 16.10.05 and 15.11.05, added to less. Kothainayaki Ammal wrote so- ropolitan Transport services. the support Chennai Heritage THE EDITOR cial novels which were very Nowadays, even a little rain in- and its voice, Madras popular. Alas! Few of the undates the area. Musings, have already READABILITY PLEASE present generation would have T.M. Sundararaman received. We thank all of them Dear Readers, heard about these authors. 19, Nallappan Street for their support for the As letters from readers increase, we are receiving more and more Could any reader please give Mylapore, Chennai 600 004 causes Chennai Heritage details of old bookshops where handwritten letters, many of them in a hand so small and illegible or espouses. we could get copies of the nov- Discovering Madras — Chennai Heritage large and scrawled as to be unreadable. Often this leads to our discard- els by these forgotten novelists? ing a letter, particularly if some part of it is unreadable. propos reader Karuna- If you wish us to consider your letter for publication, please type it with M.R. Pillai A nidhi’s letter (which ap- Rs. 100: Balram, Hema ; Bhaskar, Vijayalakshmi ; Bose, enough space between lines or write it using a medium hand, clearly H 64/5, Central Avenue peared in MM, some time ago) Korattur, Chennai 600 008 on ‘Bicyclable Madras’ (what S.; Dharam, B; Doraisamy; dotting the ‘i-s’ and crossing the ‘t-s’. reader C.G. Prasad feels about Dwarakanathan, R.; Jagtiani, Many readers also try to fill every square centimetre of a postcard Ramesh ; Krish, Usha ; It needs water the correctness of usage; I think space, making reading or editing impossible. it is a sort of transferred epi- Mahalakshmi G.; Nair, (Dr.) Please help us to consider your letters more favourably by making he method that reader thet!) made me nostalgic. In Valsala C.; Pillai, Kumaresh T.; them more legible for us. T D.V. Subramanian sugg- the 1950s as a High School Ramprasad, U.B.; Reddy, Subha K.V.; Regunath, K.; Sairam, R.; THE EDITOR ests (MM, October 1st) “to student, I was encouraged by lessen the mosquito menace” Sridharan, S.; Thomas, A. my father to go round on a Mathew; 4 MADRAS MUSINGS November 16-30, 2005

he Madras Christian l TCollege campus at Tam- An eco-sensitive It’s Chennai and Deming again baram is about 350 acres in ex- tent. The campus is 30 metres above the sea level. The high- site deserving Geared towards est part of the campus is a shal- low central ridge running north to south. mini-biosphere excellence The campus is an important hennai, the ‘Detroit of India’, could also be termed the part of the catchment area for Ccountry’s ‘Deming City’. This year, two Rane group compa- reserve status nies from Chennai – Rane TRW Steering Systems Limited and the Selaiyur and Irumbuliyur Lakes. The soil type is red later- Rane Engine Valves Limited – figure in the prestigious Deming (by M. Amirthalingam) Medal list awarded by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engi- ite except in a small area near neers (JUSE). The two are among the three companies from India the septic tank where there is in the wild state. A few orchids, sonous snakes are rarely seen, in the 2005 Deming Medal list of just four in the world. clay and a white calcareous de- such as Habinaria platiphylla, but non-poisonous snakes like The Rs. 11.83 billion turnover auto component Rane group posit. There are outcrops of rock Vanda tessellate, Vanda the Bronze-back Tree Snake started the Deming process in December 1999. While Rane Brake at numerous places of the cam- spathulata, Spathoglottis plicata (Dendrelaphis tristis), Wolf Linings Limited literally made a dash to the medal – it won it in pus. The campus originally 2003 – for Rane TRW and Rane Engine Valves it has been slower and Eulophia epidendraea are Snake (Lycodon aulicus) and formed part of the Selaiyur Re- found in the campus. A few Green Snake (Ahaetulla nasuta) but steady progress. serve Forest and the vegetation Says Rane TRW’s president S Krishnakumar, “We started gymnosperms like Araucaria, are commonly found in the our total quality management (TQM) journey under the guid- is true scrub jungle that is a part Cycas, Ephedra and Zamia are campus. Pythons (Python reticu- ance of Prof. Y. Washio of JUSE. He is an individual Deming of Tropical Dry Evergreen For- grown in the department nurs- lates) have been seen behind Prize winner and an acknowledged authority in Japan in Statisti- ery. the Selaiyur Hall. Monitor liz- cal Process Control and new product development (NPD). His Plant species diversity of MCC Campus – at a glance The forest here is an ideal ards (Varanus benghalensis) are first workshop was held in December 1999 and, subsequently, he example of the coexistence of commonly seen in the campus. has been visiting us once every three months to provide guidance.” various types of mini-ecosys- Migratory birds seen in the A University of Madras graduate, Krishnakumar did his post- tems, including open grass- campus every year include the graduate engineering course at Indian Institute of Science, lands, wetlands, thick forest Plaintive Cuckoo which some- Bangalore, and postgraduate diploma in marketing management patches and patches of scrub times remains here for a few at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad. Prior to jungles. There are 118 different months as a winter visitor and joining the Rane group, he worked with automobile and auto species of trees, 73 species of sometimes only briefly in April component manufacturers like Tata Motors Limited, Anand shrubs, 181 species of herbs, 47 when it passes through the cam- Group of Industries and Blow Plast Limited. species of climbers, five species pus as a winter migrant. Of the Established in 1987, the Rs. 8.7 crore equity based Rane TRW of orchids and two species of is a 50:50 joint venture between the Rane group and TRW. The pteridophytes found here. Animal species diversity of Rs. 360 crore turnover company has three divisions – fully inte- Trees Orchids MCC Campus – at a glance gral gear, hydraulic pump and power rack & pinion. Fully integral Fauna found in the campus gears are fitted on multiutility vehicles and commercial vehicles, Aquatic Shrubs includes nine different species while the power rack & pinion is fitted on passenger cars. It is the Herbs of mammals, 25 species of birds, gears division that has won the Deming medal. 13 species of butterflies, 11 spe- est. There is a tremendous spe- Here Krishnakumar talks about the company’s Deming cies of reptiles, one species of journey. Excerpts. cies diversity of flora and fauna. mites, four species of beetles About 500 plant species belong- So how did the Deming process start and how did it progress? and three species of spiders. It was a workshop for the top management conducted by Prof. ing to 95 families and 66 animal The mammals include ante- Washio in December 1999 that initiated the Deming process in- species, including spotted deer, lope (Antelope cervicapra), side the company. The process was formally initiated in the com- black buck, rabbit and wild black-naped hare (Lepus pany in April 2000. As the group comprises multiple companies boar, have been reported. Cattle nigricollos), jungle cat (Felis with multiple plants, we set up a three-tiered promotion struc- grazing is completely banned. chaus), domestic grey cat (Felis ture. At the group level – tier 1 – we had the TQM Apex Council As a result, the species richness silvestris), mongoose (Herpestes Birds Mites comprising the group chairman, vice-chairman, presidents and is considerable when compared edwardsi), common squirrel Butterflies Reptiles the total quality (TQ) coordinators of group companies and group to the surrounding areas. (Fuambulus palmarum), pole cat TQM coordinator. Tier 2, at the company level, is called TQM Spiders Mammals The campus is home to a lot (Mustela putorius), porcupine Promotion Committee. This consisted of president, senior man- of threatened plant species such Beetles agement group of the company and plant/head office TQM coor- (Hystrix indica) and jackal (Ca- dinators. The third tier, at the plant level, is known as TQM as Cycas beddomi, Palaquim nis aureus). recorded butterfly species, the Promotion Team. This team consisted of plant/head office func- ellipticum, Baliospermim There are four kinds of poi- Common Tiger (Danais tional heads, plant functional heads/head office department montanum, Commiphora wightii sonous snakes in the campus: plexippus) is named as the Mon- heads, and plants/head office TQ coordinator. and Trichopus zeylanicus sub- the highly venomous Indian arch butterfly of North The company had a TQ coordinator to monitor implementa- species Travancoricus. You can Cobra (Naja naja), the Com- America. These Monarch but- tion and provide necessary alerts to senior management. Each find Ophioglossum nudicaule mon Krait (Bungarus caeruleus), terflies are known to migrate plant of the company had a plant TQ coordinator who was re- (found during rainy season in the Russell’s Viper (Daboia every year from the northern sponsible for facilitating TQ practices in the plant. The company the playground) and Marsilea russelii) and the Saw Scaled Vi- part of the United States to and plant TQ coordinators worked closely to ensure practices prostrate, two ferns that occur were spread uniformly across plants. TQ coordinators were also per (Echis carinatus). These poi- Mexico in the south, over more responsible for coordinating the visits of counsellors from JUSE than a thousand miles, and also across the Atlantic from and ensuring homework given by them was carried out to their quality and utilisation of IT; and (6) HR development. Could you satisfaction. give the marks secured for the above? America to Europe. The Forest On the roadblocks you faced...? The points awarded by the examiners are confidential and are Wagtail is a small bird which We had to change the employee mind-set so that they appre- not shared with the companies. The qualifying mark for Deming would have flown thousands of ciated the TQM philosophy. Training programmes were organised would be 70 out of 100 on the criteria indicated. miles, possibly touching the that emotionally charged the workers and enhanced their moti- Andamans on its way and fly- Your path to Deming Award must have included implementing ing over the Bay of Bengal vation to embrace TQM. Initially, there was a feeling that TQM concepts like TQM, total productivity maintenance (TPM), lean was only for the shop floor and not for non-manufacturing func- manufacturing etc. When were these started in your plant(s)? against the wind, which tions. Slowly we realised that standard operating procedures The Deming Award is only a milestone in our TQM journey. steadily blows from the south- (SOP) and Kaizen were as much applicable to processes in func- We were extremely careful not to bring in new initiatives, as we west direction. The campus is tions like finance, marketing, materials as they were for the believed it would confuse our employees. TPM was introduced on on the annual migratory path of manufacturing process. We realised the need for writing SOPs for a need-basis selectively under the umbrella of TQM. Similarly, these birds. these processes to insulate them from human error. lean manufacturing was taken up in companies only after achiev- The Madras Christian Col- Did you make any additional investments? ing Deming. lege campus is home to diverse We did not make any additional investments save the cost of What does the new tag, ‘A Deming Company’, mean to your and fragile living organisms. It consultancy of Japanese Sensei. We recovered these costs many domestic as well as overseas markets? helps breed birds and animals times over due to the suggestion schemes and quality control Deming is essentially a Japanese award and it does not have and also helps in propagating (QC) circles which gave us significant cost reduction due to the great recognition either in the US or in Europe. We pursued Deming plants and increasing the green improvement activities. not for increasing sales but for improving our operational efficien- cover. It has been identified as JUSE awards its points on the following criteria: (1) Manage- cies which would stand us in good stead in bagging new and one of Tamil Nadu’s Ecologi- ment policies and the deployment regarding quality management; challenging business. In fact, the Deming tag would increase cally Sensitive Sites, but should (2) New product development and work process innovation; (3) customers’ expectations from us and we would strive to meet these be considered as a mini bio- Maintenance and improvement of product and operational quali- customers’ expectations. (Courtesy: www.domainb.com) ties; (4) Establishment of systems for managing quality, quantity, sphere reserve. — (Courtesy : costs, environment, safety etc; (5) Collection of information on Venkatachari Jagannathan C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre’s magazine Eco News.) November 16-30, 2005 MADRAS MUSINGS 5

early Indian sailors did have The early sufficient knowledge of the sea- sonal winds and currents. Coastal navigation was based on shore markers and days of sail general topography of the land; in addition, from Sangam litera- ture, we learn that big light- houses were built which burnt & navigation oil lamps and showed the way to the sailors. The target ports were suffixed with kuri or tar- avigability in olden days Kappal. Kalam was a timber get. These target ports were the Nmeant movement with vessel used locally between places to alter course. Thus, we simple floats to carry loads to coastal ports. Naavai was an have on the east coast ports like different places, across rivers ocean-going vessel, while Ambalakuri, where the ships and lakes. A manuscript re- Vangam was fitted with mast normally changed course from cently found in Orissa reveals and flew a flag. Kappal was a south to south east, and that in the 13th Century, while later term, probably from reached the Sri Lankan coast. constructing the Konark Telugu. The ships had differ- They hugged the coast and Temple, stones were moved ent figureheads like reached Akkaraippatti on the from far off places and distant parimukam, arimukam and eastcoast of Sri Lanka and set quarries by means of rafts gajamukam. Crooks were used sail east across the seas from through the various connecting for bends and teak roots for pul- there. This must have been the streams and tributaries of the leys for their inherent strength. way chosen by the Chola fleet Mahanadhi. According to the The planks of the boats were to reach Sri Vijaya (Sumatra). manuscript the distances trav- usually sewn with coconut fi- Since they sailed below the 10 elled were over 400 km. bre ropes, which not only held deg parallel, it was not possible Some think this was an early Indian ship that sailed in eastern waters. the planks together (and be- The different regions of for them to sight the Pole Star, ger boards were used. Sukkan or it Isaba and the Chinese Chih. came tighter when wet) but India’s great maritime facades, which disappeared into the rudder was not introduced till January and February were also, with locally made paste, linked with rich hinterlands, haze of the horizon. The ‘suns late. The reason could be the the months for outward sailing provided the required water provided favourable conditions or the stars’ azimuth was calcu- low speed of the vessel (rudder from the south Kaveri delta. tightness. The mast was called for India’s sea trade. Villiers in lated by practical knowledge, is not effective at lower speeds) The ships sailed southwards us- koombu and yardarm parumal Indian Ocean states that the In- and viral kanakku was used to or easier methods by oars for ing Vadakkan, later they may (corruption of firman of Per- dian coasting trade itself and determine the location. They smaller vessels. The outrigger have used Memari for the east- sian). Rigs were alattu and sails the trade across the Bay of Ben- also used tamed birds to iden- was a float or a secondary hull ward trip. The ports were noted pai. Rows of side planks were gal “kept by far the largest pro- tify the shore areas. The navi- projecting from the boat. Heavy as being in yamam distances. vanku-vari (counted from keel portion of the Indian sailing gational stars assisted the sailors. outriggers in the dhonis were The early sailors of South In- upwards), the prow was aniya- ships effectively employed and The rise of Ardra in early fixed permanently and the dia certainly knew their navi- the deep water trade was in ships, made thin and long, gation, but their knowledge was some degree left to others”. l by K.R.A. NARASIAH turned according to the wind. never recorded. Similarly, un- S.R. Rao has shown through Foresails were square or rectan- like the Arabs who made marine archaeological evi- pirai and the stern was January indicated the com- gular and had trouble in turn- charts, the Tamil sailors did not dences that port construction aniyathukattai. The stone an- mencement of the sailing sea- ing. So steering was difficult. leave behind any charts. But has been in existence for centu- chor was kal-nanguram (langar son to the east with Arudra Lateen sails were not used till their geographical knowledge ries. The recent Mamallapuram in Persian), the Mariner’s Com- darsanam. (Was this the reason the late 14th Century (lateen was excellent, as they knew the findings and excavations also pass, called machcha yantiram, for the popular Tamil saying sails were triangular in shape places they were going to. This indicate the same. Sangam lit- was actually a thin magnetised “Thai pirandhal vazhi and at 450 to the mast to control is borne out by the fact that erature states that the trade be- iron plate shaped like a fish and pirakkum”?) Ardra, Margasee- the direction). This was not huge fleets sailed to trade and tween India and the East and kept floating in a bowl of oil. ram, Araankottai (Kiruttika), known to Indian sailors of early establish settlements in the West flourished. The tail end was the North. Arundati and Tiruvonam were days. southeast Asian countries. Timber was measured in the sailors’ stars. Ardra and All this information led me According to Dr. Aruna- We can understand this fact muzham and viral (one muzham Margaseeram were noted as * to examine the capacity of the chalam , the distances were better when we compare the = 25 virals). The timber was pathfinders (the Orion group; early sailors both in the art of measured by the stars. From the voyage of Columbus who, as from Iluppai, Punnai, Siru they rise in the east at dusk in shipbuilding and navigation in literary records, Uthara or late as 1492, under the patron- Tekku, Aini, Karimarudu, etc. July – August, and at dawn in the open sea. How did they Vada Meen was Arundati (Al age of Spain’s King Ferdinand, Punnai grew straight and in December – January). In case build their ships to stand the Cor). Kau Nila (the Pole Star) and Queen Isabella made the good length and had the prop- these two guiding stars were not vagaries of the sea and how did and Kau Kanakku (Star Mea- biggest blunder ever in naviga- erty of flexibility. Adiramapat- seen, the bright Rohini (Alpha they find their way to distant sure) were used by old seafar- tional history by locating a place tinam, Muthuppettai and Tauri) and Kartik (Pleidas) on lands? ers. This measurement is also which it was not! Was it East Kodikkarai were the ideal the port bow side and Makam called viral kanakku. It is a ref- for him when it was actually The Arabs are generally ac- places to build ships. There on the starboard provided the erence to the altitude of the spe- West? knowledged as the earliest sail- were adjoining islands and vil- guides. The alternative is cific star during the transit of *(Dr. Arunachalam in his ors, as the greatest sea route lages within a mangrove belt. Sravan as it rises when Ardra the meridian. book Chola Navigation Package from Biblical times, from the Marshy lands were available sets, these being near the Viral kanakku in Tamil is has dealt with navigation in Red Sea to the coast of Malabar and a variety of timber too. equator. Anguli in Sanskrit (3/4 of an depth. I am indebted to him for and Coromandel, was used by There were traditional boat Steering was always by the inch). Gujaratis used Dhru for most of the information in this Roman, Jewish and Arab mer- builders. An east-west coastal steering oar. Sometimes, dag- the same measure. Arabs called article.) chants all sailing in Indian ships. stretch from Kodikkarai to But people in South India too Tondi was the main place of If that’s your address... had known the art of naviga- MUMBAI ENTRY RESTRICTION construction. The largest size (Continued from Page 1) tion from early times, as seen boats were built in Kodikkarai. from the fact that the Cholas Kalla Dhoni (thief boat or (Continued from Page 2) ment the scheme. The Divi- wandering into certain areas, streets or restaurants and established settlements in stealth boat) was a fast boat. private vehicle owners to help sion Bench of the Court Southeast Asia after sailing dismissed the State’s explana- reeling out with a ‘Huh? This ship had a transom verti- in reducing the pollution levels Where am I?” feeling. across the Bay of Bengal. cal to the base like later vessels. in the city.” tion and urged it not to give excuses. Or needing signboards ex- Yukti Kalpa Taru, a treatise There was a short, heavy bal- “The State Government According to the petitioners, plained to him by other lo- credited to Boja Raja in the 11th ance board outrigger laid should first ensure adequate cals who have learnt ‘foreign’ there are over 9 lakh two- Century, details the art of ship- athwart the gunwales. public transport before imple- in order to help unprepared wheelers and around 5 lakh building, right from the selec- While boat-building tech- menting such schemes. The locals. cars on Mumbai’s roads, ninety tion of timber. From Tamil lit- nology was shore-based, the trains and buses are so crowded Very confusing. percent of the population uses erature and legend, we learn navigational techniques re- that a car owner would find it But, hey, making our guests public transport, whereas 10% feel at home is one of our old- that the coastal people had sev- quired deeper knowledge of difficult,” said counsel for the who own private vehicles est traditions. eral varieties of ships, taking sea behaviour, water currents WIAA. occupy 90% of the city roads. Viva Athithis! their names from their usage. and wind movements. We now The State also opposed the (Courtesy: Environment Am- (See, there’s that mixed lan- The ships were known as know that Hippalus discovered scheme saying it did not have bassador) guage thing again.) Kalam, Naavai, Vangam and the monsoon winds; but the enough traffic police to imple- Ranjitha Ashok 6 MADRAS MUSINGS November 16-30, 2005

-H-E-H stands for Cuisine, CHospitality, Education, Food and, today, much more. Indian chefs get Once regarded as ‘essentials’ relegated to the kitchen, today’s chef has added status, coming out of his domain fre- celebrity status quently to meet the guests and widen his perspective. One chef who caused ripples of excite- not realise the importance of male colleagues not only for she got them published as a (Current affairs questions are ment and anticipation at the 2nd National Culinary Confer- this,” says Kapoor. Documenta- having stormed a hitherto male book, and that was the begin- from the period October 16th to tion has been the basis of his bastion, but for exhibiting stay- ning. Before long, she was in- 30th. Questions 11 to 20 pertain ence recently held in Chennai cookbooks. ing power, reflected in her long vited to host cookery shows on to Tamil Nadu and Chennai.) was Sanjeev Kapoor whose larger than life presence domi- “The media has certainly innings with the ITC group of TV and there was no looking 1. The much-publicised trial of nated the panel discussion led created the concept of celeb- hotels. There is this consistency back after that. Today, which former Asian leader began by Geeta Doctor on “Who rity chefs and imporved our about women professionals, Badrinath runs her own pub- on October 19th? Needs Celebrity Chefs?” standing,” acknowledges Gieve where they do not change jobs lishing house and has the dis- 2. John Chambers is the CEO of When he spoke on ‘Chef as Desai, Executive Chef of the as often as their male counter- tinction of publishing 12 recipe which computer major that has a Brand’ Kapoor reiterated his ITC Hotels in Mumbai. But parts. For a woman, however books in English, 10 in Tamil announced it will invest more than message very clearly to the O.P. Khantwal of the ITC successful she may be as a pro- and 3 each in Kannada and $1 billion in India? younger and the aspiring chefs: Telugu, selling over 3,50,000 in 3. Name the late Prime Minister Faith in yourself if you decide all. Mallika Badrinath, like l The second of the two articles in which SABITA after whom the Varanasi airport is to break the mould. He re- Tarla Dalal, has also used the to be named. RADHAKRISHNAN takes a look at the highlights of leverage her books have pro- called how he was asked to play the 2nd National Culinary Conference. 4. Who won the national tennis consultant on a cookery vided to sell her home products, crowns in New Delhi recently? programme and, later, asked to like sambar powder, podis and 5. Out of My Comfort Zone is the other food products. conduct the first TV show Grand Kakatiya, Hyderabad fessional, the demands of multi- autobiography of which legendary which was to be a part of a se- While the electronic media Australian cricketer? It was offi- feels that television-boosted tasking and juggling roles do helps create a celebrity image, ries. It was that one show which chefs are NOT the only ones to put pressure and hats off to cially launched on October 23rd. made him. It was so well re- the chef-presenter is unlikely to 6. Who has been appointed the acquire a celebrity brand. Chef women like Bhasin who have be a success without possessing ceived and probably conducted Satish Arora of the Taj Group managed all that and more suc- observer for the BCCI polls? with such a flourish that the the intrinsic quality of being 7. Name the woman, considered and Chef, Manjit Gill of ITC, cessfully. able to deliver and excel in the sponsors wanted more, today for instance, are celebrity chefs Apart from chefs, the media the leading icon of the Black civil his Khana Khazana on Zee TV field of cuisine. Not everyone rights movement in the U.S., who for having placed Indian food has also boosted the image of can make it to the top just by has become a household word on the international map and cookbook writers, a classic ex- passed away recently. having had a run of 12 years as being projected on television. 8. The Supreme Court on October for the way they had trained ample being Mallika Badrinath. You need to be an accom- a weekly half hour programme. young chefs, Khantwal felt. A simple housewife, she had 2nd shifted the Kanchi Acharya Apart from being a good chef plished cook. case to which place? What happens when the this penchant for collecting Having enjoyed only a and having an appealing stage chef is a woman? Manisha recipes like most women inter- 9. Who is the new Chief Informa- presence, Kapoor has had the backroom status in the past, it is tion Commissioner for the coun- Bhasin is the sole woman to win ested in cooking. When the heartening to see chefs today skill to write several cookbooks the Best Chef Award from collection overflowed, she se- try? which have each gone into X getting the admiration they de- 10. What is common to Marriot Worldwide. Executive lected some of them, tried them serve. The more chefs meet number of reprints helping him Chef of the Marriot Welcom out, tested and fine tuned them Govindpuri, Sarojini Nagar and gain celebrity status. “Chefs are with diners, the more they are Paharganj in Delhi? Hotel in New Delhi, Manisha and sent them to her friends. likely to be taking the first steps poor at documentation, and do commands the respect of her When they found them good, * * * to celebrity chef status. 11. Who was the pioneer of Tamil theatre who founded the Suguna Vilas Sabha in 1891? A GLIMMER OF HOPE IN ADYAR 12. Name the well-known play- back singer and Carnatic musician (Continued from Page 1) of the entire low-lying area in Environmentalists feel that creased focus on the Adyar Es- the Adyar Creek and its main- “the latest ruling will provide tuary-Creek complex and of yesteryears who passed away on the night.” In protest against st tenance as a wetland when the necessary guidance to imple- framing schemes for their resto- October 31 . the “indiscriminate growth of il- State Government attempted menters, and probably help ration. In the long-term, it 13. With which Irish-American legal constructions in prohib- to construct kalyana mandapams CZMA rein in the CMDA’s means a greater focus on the film-maker would you associate ited areas of the CRZ and the and other buildings in the name current policies that are in utter city’s coast. The Court Order such MS’s films as Meera and respondents who have been of Dr. Ambedkar. Despite the disregard of vital issues of envi- recording the statement of the Sakunthalai? turning a blind eye to and not Court order, less than 40% of ronment or water.” The CZMA, that plans are under- 14. Who was the ‘First Citizen of responding to any of the repre- the original 100 acres of the CMDA, which has “not paid way for restoration of the India’ whose review of Avvaiyar in sentations made by concerned estuary remains. “The rest of much heed to environmental Creek, means that it has GOT 1953 ran something like this: citizens and groups,” the Court this rich, biodiverse ecosystem ecological safeguards”, will to be done.” “Seen Gemini Vasan’s Avvaiyar. was invoked in the petition to has been suffering a deliberate, have to wake up if the ruling of M. Raghuram, a founder- T.K. Shanmugam’s play is a hun- direct the respondents “to im- slow death, and the authorities the Court is faithfully imple- member of the MNS, remem- dred times superior to this pic- mediately take all measures to vested with the duty of protect- mented by the CZMA, the bers, “Till around 1995, when ture...”? stop all illegal activities on the ing the area have been turning activists point out. construction on the banks of the 15. Which was the first Indian lan- Elliot’s Beach on the northern a blind eye to what’s been hap- river began in right earnest, the guage type to be developed after side of the Urur Olcott Kup- However, more important pening,” says Bharath Jairaj of estuary used to be our members’ printing arrived in India in 1556? pam, including extraction of than legal battles is the need for CAG. regular meeting place. We’d 16. Where in Chennai can one see sand, levelling of land, putting a concerted plan of restoration Swayambu Vinayagars sprouting watch the birds till dusk and up structures...” Adds Jairaj, “The recent – unless we want the ecosystem out of a peepul tree? then sit around swapping sto- Though activists have been order is a very, very critical ruling itself to disappear, closely fol- ries. When the area was fenced 17. Name the second oldest sports fighting for the last decade on in that it points towards the long- lowed by related disasters like club in Madras, founded in 1901, in and about a thousand work- several fronts against assault on term issues in terms of develop- water inundation, soil sali- by the Commissioner of the Cor- men housed in one corner of the delicate estuarine ecosys- ment of ideas. The earlier ruling nation, and groundwater poration, Lt. Col. Sir George the estuary, we began to with- tem by construction and busi- by Justice Kanagaraj was impor- depletion in the immediate fu- Moore. draw. Today, construction de- ness establishments, “nothing tant with respect to wetlands as ture. Which is why this judg- 18. The Auxiliary Royapuram bris dumped in the river deters much” has happened by way of an important ecosystem. This ment is significant; it reiterates Medical School, established in the need to protect the estuary. even the smaller life forms.” 1877, has now grown into which protecting a fragile estuarine ruling supports the fact that de- fine centre of medicine? ecosystem that few cities have velopment must not happen at Pointing out that “unscrupu- EDITOR’S NOTE: Much the benefit of. In 1984, the 19. Who were the comic greats the expense of the ecosystem, lous businessmen, collusive damage has already been given the N.S. Krishnan and T.A. WWF made a strong represen- that the beach itself is critical to regulators and an apathetic wreaked on the original estua- Mathuram Awards recently? tation to the State Government, the city’s health. It is one that un- public” have been responsible rine ecosystem. The recent rul- seeking protection of the area 20. Which Beatle is said to have derstands the long-term impact for the present sad state of the ing could well be a turning point recorded portions of his album as a sanctuary, but to no avail. of environmental problems, as Estuary, environmental activist in its fortunes and also the Chances in Madras in the mid- However, the High Court, in opposed to the current system and lawyer T. Mohan, who ar- city’s. We can only hope that 1980s? response to a PIL filed by CAG which focusses on the short gued this case, says,“The short- better wisdom will prevail even (Answers on page 7) in 1993, directed preservation term.” term impact could be an in- at this late stage. November 16-30, 2005 MADRAS MUSINGS 7

A monograph to Subscriptions and contributions l As readers are already aware — and hundreds have responded positively — we have no other alternative but to price Madras films dealt with mythological or Musings. From April 16th (Volume XIV, No.1), Madras Musings has recall KS medieval themes. been priced at Rs.5 a copy, ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION: Rs.100/-. Please In 1937, he built his own stu- make out your cheque only to ‘Chennai Heritage’ and send it, together centenary tribute to a dio, Madras Picture Producers with the COUPON BELOW, to CHENNAI HERITAGE, 260-A, TTK Agreat film-maker in Prof. Combine, in Spring Gardens, ROAD, CHENNAI 600 018 or C/O LOKAVANI-HALL MARK PRESS PVT. LTD., 122, GREAMES ROAD, CHENNAI 600 006. M.R. Rangarajan’s Director K. Mount Road, Madras. Prosper- Subrahmanyam, A Biography. ity in films saw him purchasing An ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION of just Rs.100 covers only a part of The book, however, is a lauda- an enormous bungalow in San our costs. Corporate support and YOUR support will continue to be essential for Chennai Heritage and Madras Musings to play a greater tory monograph rather than a Thomé where he led a princely life. In 1939, he founded the role in creating awareness about the city, its heritage and its environ- biography. Most of the facts ment. We therefore look forward to your sending us your contribu- about the pioneer filmmaker’s Film Chamber of Commerce, Madras, which is today known tions IN ADDITION TO your subscriptions. life are there, but the book If in the coming year Chennai Heritage receives repeated support makes little effort to study the as the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce. He from those of you who have already made contributions, and if many man or his work. more supporters join the bandwagon, we will not only be able to keep was also to warmly espouse the K. Subrahmanyam (KS), K. Subrahmanyam. Madras Musings going, but also be able to continue awareness-build- ‘Appa’ as he was known to most cause of the devadasis during ing exercises on on-going projects as well as undertake one or two members of the film industry, company was, however, short- the Anti-Nautch years of 1929- more such exercises. lived and by 1929 KS was back 1932 and in 1934 he was a great was born on April 20, 1904 in Therefore, please keep your contributions coming IN ADDITION Papanasam near Kumbakonam to the law. Four years later, he help to Rukmini Devi in found- TO YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS. If, say, you send in a cheque for Rs.500, to C.S. Krishnaswami Iyer, a decided to stage a re-entry into ing Kalakshetra. we will treat Rs.100 of it towards subscription to Madras Musings for well-known lawyer, and the film world, this time with In 1940, the MPPC was 2004-5 and the remaining Rs.400 as contribution towards the causes Venkalakshmi Ammal. His fa- talkies that had arrived in 1931. burnt to the ground and with Chennai Heritage espouses. ther was a great lover of music Working with Al. Rm. Alagap- that bit of ill-fortune, the for- We look forward to all readers of Madras Musings, and those and counted the composer pa Chettiar of Kottaiyur, KS tunes of KS began to decline. newcomers who want to receive copies, sending in their subscrip- Papanasam Sivan and the adapted the successful play Though he made several more tions. We are indeed sorry we can no longer remain a free mailer. Harikatha exponent Soola- Pavalakodi for cinema and di- films, none achieved the suc- — The Editor cess of his earlier films. This was partly due to changing audi- ence tastes as to the funding of CHENNAI HERITAGE the film industry by the parallel economy which burgeoned 260-A T.T.K. ROAD, ALWARPET, CHENNAI 600 018. during the War years. I am already on your mailing list (Mailing List No...... ) / KS is remembered for the breaks he gave many aspiring I have just seen Madras Musings and would like to receive it stars, including M.G. Rama- hereafter. chandran, T.R. Rajakumari, l I/We enclose cheque/demand draft/money order for Rs. 100 (Rupees M.S. Subbulakshmi and One hundred) payable to CHENNAI HERITAGE, MADRAS, as sub- B. Saroja Devi. He also made scription to Madras Musings for the year 2004-05. his own niece, Baby Saroja, the l As token of my support for the causes of heritage, environment and a leading child artiste of her time. better city that Madras Musings espouses, I send Chennai Heritage an By 1950, KS had become a re- additional Rs ...... (Rupees spected father figure in the in- ...... ) A scene from K. Subrahmanyam’s classic, Thyaga Bhoomi. dustry, aptly referred to as Please keep/put me on your mailing list. mangalam Vaidyanatha Bha- rected the film, retaining the ‘Appa’. In 1951 he led the first gavatar among his close friends. stage couple M.K. Tyagaraja Indian cultural delegation to Name : ...... Growing up in a rich musical at- Bhagavatar and S.D. Subbu- Moscow. Having made one of Address: ...... mosphere, it was no wonder that lakshmi as its stars. The film, the first children’s films in In- ...... KS became an aficionado of the shot at Meenakshi Cinetone dia, Bala Yogini in 1938, KS was Note: Overseas postage Rs. 550/year extra. Cheques for overseas post- arts. He, however, trained to be (now the site of the MGR also instrumental in founding age alone payable to M/s. Lokavani Hall-Mark Press Pvt. Ltd.. All other a lawyer and marriage to Janaki College) in Adyar the Children’s Film Society of cheques to ‘Chennai Heritage’. Meenakshi, the granddaughter proved a success when released India in the mid 1950s. KS died of Rao Bahadur K.S. Venkata- in 1934. in April 1971. rama Iyer of Nagapattinam, a Along with S.D. Subbu- There being very few books celebrated criminal lawyer, lakshmi (SDS), KS formed his on Indian film-makers and Senate House Conservation Fund made it appear that the ground- own production company, Ma- films, this book is to be wel- work had been laid for KS to dras United Artistes Corpora- comed. It can be completed in rise at the Bar. tion, in 1934. She also became one reading. The author has, l The Senate House Restoration and Management Trust appeals to However, it was the world of his second wife. The years 1934 however, filled the book with all alumni of the University of Madras and heritage lovers every- cinema that held him in thrall. to 1940 were really his best quotations from various classics where to contribute to the Senate House Conservation Fund which In 1928, Raja Sandow, the when all the films he directed, in almost every page and this the Trust is managing for the purpose of restoring Senate House to famed actor and director, had either for MUAC or for other continuously distracts from the its old glory by December 2005 and maintaining it thereafter in the same condition. Cheques should be made out to the Senate House settled in Madras, making mov- banners, became hits. Three of theme. Yet another avoidable Conservation Account and sent to the Registrar, University of Ma- ies for Associated Films which them, Seva Sadanam (1938), aspect is that almost one-third was financed in part by Venka- which introduced M.S. Subbu- dras, Chennai 600 005. Contributions are eligible for benefits under of the book is devoted to de- Section 80-G of the Income Tax Act. tarama Iyer, KS’s grandfather- lakshmi as an actress, Thyaga tailed life sketches of KS’s chil- in-law. KS joined Sandow as Bhoomi* (1939) and Bhakta dren. The author also does not Dear Registrar, Assistant Director. He also Cheta (1940) had social make an objective study of his I am pleased to enclose a cheque for Rs...... helped with the scriptwriting, themes. This was a path-break- subject; he eulogises KS, gloss- as my contribution to the restoration and maintenance of editing and legal aspects. The ing effort in an era when most ing over his negatives, and de- Senate House. Kindly acknowledge receipt. scribes even some of KS’s flops Name: ...... Answers to Quiz as “moderate successes”. 1. Saddam Hussein; 2. Cisco; 3. Lal Bahadur Shastri; 4. Sunil Kumar A great film-maker like KS Address: ...... and Isha Lakhani; 5. Steve Waugh; 6. Former CEC, T.S. deserves an in-depth biogra- ...... Krishnamurthy; 7. Rosa Parks; 8. Pondicherry; 9. Wajahat Habibullah; phy; I hope this monograph will 10. These three areas saw near-simultaneous serial bomb blasts that left be just the first step towards ...... more than 70 persons dead. that...... * * * 11. Pammal Sambandam Mudaliar; 12. P. Leela; 13. Ellis R. Dungan; * The author errs in stating that I am an alumnus/alumna/heritage lover and wish the project all success. My college was ...... 14. Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari; 15. Tamil (‘Malabar’); 16. Sri this was the only Indian film to Balavinayagar Temple in Bharani Colony, Saligramam; 17. The South be banned by the British. Date: ...... Signature: ...... Indian Athletic Association; 18. Stanley Medical College; 19. Nagesh and Manorama; 20. George Harrison. Sriram V 8 MADRAS MUSINGS November 16-30, 2005

November 20: Discussion on ‘Dress Code for Women College Stu- Fifty years in dents’ (P.S. High School audito- rium, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Till November 20: Exhibition of the works of T.G. Shanmugam (at November 19: Exhibition/sale of Vinyasa Art Gallery.) Division I products made by disabled per- November 21-30: Urban Space, an V.A. Parthasarathy. sons, organised by Nandini Voice of the Deprived (at Freemasons exhibition of paintings by Joydip lwarpet Cricket Club is VAP’s bluster and bravado how he had delayed joining the Hall, 10.00 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.). Sengupta. (At ArtWorld). Asynonymous with V.A. while engaging our opponents club because VAP said he November 19: Le Temps du Repli, a November 23: Contemporary Dance Parthasarathy, VAP to every- in verbal duels throughout that could not offer him an opener’s dance performance by Josef Nadj featuring Astaad Deboo. (At Kalakshetra Auditorium, one, who, along with a bunch season peaked when our star slot, then occupied by P. and Cecile Thieblemont. Josef Nadj’s work is a unique distilla- 6.30 p.m.) of enthusiastic cricketers from batsman A.G. Satvinder Singh Ramesh and V. Sivarama- November 25 and 26: Workshop that quiet suburb – or so it was made an unforgettable 147 krishnan. He also poked fun at tion of dance, theatre and mime. Le Temps du Repli is an intimate on Jaipur Lac Craft. Zeenat Jahan in the 1940s – decided to form a against Jolly Rovers, another VAP’s habit of enticing players pas de deux, which focusses on af- will demonstrate and teach the team which would later enter club of which he has been sec- he wanted for the club with the fairs of the heart. (At Kalak- beauty and the workmanship of the Madras Cricket Asso- retary for decades, and which promise that playing for shetra Auditorium, 7.00 p.m.) lacquered wood work. Learn the ciation's league tournament. is the pride of the Sanmar Alwarpet would get them a November 19: The British Council art of turning wood into earrings, Last fortnight, the Sanmar Group. berth in the Indian side, citing invites members of the Young bangles or boxes and then lacquer Group, the Club’s current spon- the examples of Srikkanth, Learners’ Centre for a Children’s them in bands of pure bright After a long stint in colours. (At DakshinaChitra. sor, felicitated Parthasarathy, Hyderabad, I came back to L. Sivaramakrishnan, W.V. Day poetry competition and the the Club’s veteran secretary to Raman and M. Venkatara- chance to win attractive prizes. Details: 24462435, 24918943). Chennai in 1981 and played for November 25-27: Madras Players whom the Club is probably Alwarpet CC and TVS, my mana. When Srikkanth struck Age 5-9 years (10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.) and age 10-14 years presents Hayavadana, written by dearer than anything else in life, Girish Karnad, directed by N.S. on his steering it during the fifty (2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.). (At the British Council) Yamuna. (At Museum Theatre, continous years it has been in 7.00 p.m.) l by V. RAMNARAYAN the First Division of the Chen- November 27: Piano concert by nai cricket league. Worms (Netherlands), in a cur- My own first memory of knot, come straight to the tain raiser to The Other Festival. (At Amethyst, 7.00 p.m.) VAP is that of a dapper little new employers, for the next a bad patch, VAP promised him ground.” M.O. Parthasarathy Till November 26: Exhibition of man in the typical TVS uni- eight seasons, coming into close he would cement his place in recalled how some of the se- contact with VAP. It was very the Indian team if he accompa- niors like Mukund or Satvinder woodcuts and sculptures by form of white shirt and trousers, Murali Das. (At AFM Gallery.) enjoyable most of the time, nied him on the Sabarimala pil- Singh would urge VAP to leave driving a tiny Bug Fiat to pick Till November 27: Exhibition by up players for the weekly league though it was also sometimes a grimage. as soon as he entered the rough ride, as we did not see Viren Tanwar. (At Apparao or friendly match. (Sometimes, Srinath Rajam, former pa- ground, because he brought Galleries.) you had to cut short your exam eye to eye on a few issues. VAP tron of Alwarpet CC and the bad luck and wickets would made life difficult for some of November 30: Beats ‘N’ Bars & Air preparations to do VAP’s bid- son of the late R. Ratnam of the fall in a heap as a result. In the Guitars, a celebration of contem- ding.) He picked me to play for us, but he is a loyal friend to TVS group, recalls how he had evening, after the match, the porary British music through film. Jai Hind CC, a team then in the people he cares for and he will been annoyed by VAP’s refusal team would assemble at The programme offers a chance to B zone of the I Division. That do anything for them. When to change the club’s name from Mylapore Club for ‘tiffin’ and look again at the diverse experi- was in 1964. Following a suc- my brother-in-law S. Nataraj, Alwarpet CC to TVS CC. But enormous quantities of the ences music can offer, and ex- cessful season under the inspir- the Karnataka and Tamil he admired VAP’s steadfast- club’s famous badam halva plores some of the many possibili- ties revealed by combining music ing captaincy of S. Raman, I Nadu batsman, died at the age ness even in the face of the would be ordered mindless of of 48, a benefit match was ar- threat of withdrawal of sponsor- the hole we were creating in and visual images. (At the Brit- was selected to tour Bombay ish Council, 7.00 p.m.) ranged and VAP did a magnifi- ship of the club. VAP’s pocket - VAP would with the MCA Colts. I won- December 4: Pedro Soler, a guitar- dered then if my selection was cent job of collecting funds for In conversation that take all this in his stride. the match. ist embodying Flamenco music, ensured by some timely prod- evening, former Alwarpet CC Among VAP’s achieve- will perform solo pieces and ding of the selectors by VAP, You could disagree with players in the audience relived ments in cricket, besides the creations with Carnatic musi- our secretary. VAP was also in VAP and disapprove of his several moments from the past. successful running of Alwarpet cians. The origin of Flamenco is the background when I made methods, but you could never V. Sivaramakrishnan remem- Cricket Club for more than half from the ancient Andalusian my debut for Alwarpet in the overlook his dedication to club bered how VAP told a player a century, has been the TNCA chants, folk songs, and lullabies. 1968-69 season. Once again, it and cricket or his capacity for who was getting married on the Club he worked tirelessly to cre- This unique music is played on the guitar, which accompanies its was perhaps no coincidence hard work even in the evening day of a league match: “I know ate. He also made major contri- of his life. K. Srikkanth spoke it’s an early muhurtam. You songs and dances. Flamenco is a that my good performances butions to the conduct of Test music of oral tradition and is were rewarded with a place in of his 19-year stint for Alwarpet should be free by 8.30 a.m. As and ODI matches at Chepauk continually evolving. (At the the Madras Juniors team. CC in his breezy style, recalling soon as you are done tying the over the decades. Museum Theatre, 7 p.m.)

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Published by S. Muthiah for ‘Chennai Heritage’, 260-A, TTK Road, Chennai 600 018 and printed byby TT JJ GeorgeGeorge atat Lokavani-HallLokavani-Hallmark Mark PressPress Pvt.Pvt. Ltd.,Ltd., 122,122, GreamsGreams Road,Road, ChennaiChennai 600600 006.006. EditedEdited byby S.S. MUTHIAH.